Members of burned church to tackle its future

March 29, 2008

The congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church, which burned to the ground on Wednesday night, will worship on Sunday in Wecota. The service will begin at 11 a.m. at Wecota Hall. A potluck meal will follow, said Wayne Haberling of Faulkton, chairman of the church board. “We'll let some feelings go and maybe console each other,” Haberling said. “We'll just get together and be ourselves.” At the gathering, members will begin to talk about the congregation's future, he said. “Immanuel means 'God with us,' so we are going to get led,” he said. It appears an electrical problem in the steeple caused the fire that destroyed the rural, wooden church built in 1904. The church's membership is 110. The building was on state Highway 20 west of Cresbard and north of Wecota. As of late Friday, no fund had been established to which people in the area could donate to help the congregation recover, Haberling said. Reporter Russ Keen; (605) 622-2317 or 1-800-925-4100 ext. 317; rkeen@aberdeen news.com